Communicating Your Core Values: 4 Things You can do Plus Swipe Copy
The Black Lives Matter protests prompted a lot of people to take a good hard look at themselves and their businesses in recent weeks. From hitting pause on marketing to reading books on race and tuning into webinars and consuming an unbelievable amount of news—it has been inspiring to see people engage in a cultural conversation on a scale that is long overdue.
And, while each person is on their own journey, a lot of people are experiencing the same wake-up call—that they have been a part of a racist and discriminatory system, even if they personally have never shown anything but love and kindness to others. This realization is heavy, but it is an important first step in learning how you can use your voice, business, and brand to stand up for equality. Today, then, I wanted to share ideas and examples of the second, third, and fourth steps you can take on your own march towards communicating your company values. Be inspired, get activated, and use the swipe copy to make sure your words and work make everyone feel seen.
Add an inclusivity statement to your website
If you want it to be clear that you plan weddings, bake cakes, or do flowers for all couples, then adding an inclusivity statement to your website is a great idea. Whether you put it in your footer, on your about page, or display it prominently in a content block on your homepage, doing so will make what you stand for clear without needing to write much. I really encourage you to do this, so I’ve written 3 versions you can choose from—copy and paste the one you love onto your website! (You could add it to your email signature, too.)
We believe love is love and are proud to help all couples plan the wedding celebration of their dreams.
Proud to plan weddings for brides, grooms, and LGBTQIA couples of all races and religions.
Hate is a sh*tty wedding guest. All couples are welcome here.
Make a Public Pledge
In my opinion, incorporating your values into your brand is always a good idea and, in recent weeks, a lot of wedding business owners have started looking for ways to do just that. And, just like with most aspects of your business, making this change takes time (because it is a long-term, forever effort), so making a public statement is a strong first move—not to mention a way to create accountability. I encourage you to write a pledge that comes from your heart. If you need some inspiration to get started, here is what I wrote for Planner Life Academy:
Building relationships is at the core of this community—it always has been and always will be. But, we understand that we can and need to do better. In sharing more voices than our own. In making sure we amplify diverse perspectives. In not just making sure there is a seat at the table for everyone but making reservations too.⠀
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We promise to stand up, speak out, listen, share, and lift up always. We promise to make educating ourselves a lifelong practice. And, most importantly, we promise to be active participants in a conversation that must never stop. Because, if community is not rooted in humanity, equality, and service, what purpose does it have?⠀
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When we say welcome to the planner life, please know all planners are welcome here.
When you sit down to write your own pledge, think of it as sharing your heart rather than being political. Let people know the why behind the promise you are making, and share some of what you are making a commitment to do. No need to include your specific action plan here—the goal is simply to acknowledge you have work to do.
Update your core values and mission statement
Everyone starts a business for a reason but not everyone takes the time to put that reason on paper. And, if there was ever a time to finally put pen to paper, this is it. Whether you write a full mission, vision, and value statement or simply document your core values, I really encourage you to do this and refer back to them whenever you are working through a challenge. Writing your core values is pretty straightforward—if you need an example to get the wheels turning, here is what the team at Sourced Co. and I recently updated our core values to:
We are friends, moms, and spouses first.
We leave our egos aside to grow as a team.
We ask for help when we need it.
We work to help people grow their businesses.
We create to inspire those around us.
We will not hesitate to use our platform to advocate for human and political causes.
We understand our responsibility to espouse equality in our business, products, partnerships, and marketing.
Use More Inclusive Language
You got into the wedding industry because you wanted to help people celebrate their love and, while I am pretty confident in saying that you have never intentionally tried to make someone feel less than, the industry (and our language in general) is filled with words that might make someone feel that way. So, as you continue to do the work and show the world your heart, you can also make people feel seen by using more inclusive language.
Use “couples” or “partners” instead of “bride and groom” to ensure your language does not have a heterosexual bias
Use “wedding party” instead of “bridal party” for the same reason
Capitalize the “B” in Black when referencing a person and not a color
Understand that Black and African American are not interchangeable
BIPOC stands for Black, indigenous, people of color
Latinx is a newer term and is the gender-neutral replacement for Latino/a
Cisgender means that someone sees their gender identity and sex as the same
Ask people what pronouns they use (she/her, him/his, they/theirs)
LGBTQIA stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexed, asexual
Be person-centered. For example, say “a person with disabilities” as opposed to “disabled person”
Avoid using mental health disorders (like “OCD”) in jest
